Who & Why....

I. C. Stars is a non-profit organization based in Chicago. They assist adults who have earned either a high school diploma or GED in developing their business and technology skills. The company was founded in 1999 for the purpose of turning young adults into community leaders by the year 2020. The project works by creating teams consiting of three to four individuals working on three different client programs over the 16-week training course. Once the 16-week is trial is over, careers in Information Technology and other computer professions will be open to the young professionals. Also once the program is completed the graduates will automatically be accepted into Depaul CTI or School for New Learning bachelor's program.

The numbers do not lie and I.C. Stars has a 100% placement rate for their graduates once they complete their process. Northern Trust, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Exelon, Loyola University, and Siemens include some of the companies that volunteers have been placed with. On average all i.c. alum make between $34,000-60,000 which is an increase from the $11,000 that is their reported income at the start of the program.

Visit http://www.icstars.org/ for more info on the program as well as to apply.